overabundant

at first
there was the newness

the
    positioning
the
   adjustments to be made
the
   marking of territories

like dogs
do

the claiming of
this or that space
this or that drawer
this or that cup
    for the morning's coffee

then
somewhat like
the photos on our wall
the ones right next to
   the wine rack
the ones from nassau
you remember
on the docks where
black and tan youth, boys mostly
took pictures with our camera
claiming tips

we adjusted to center
we filled the frame
just
right
and the newness of it all

was now more like
a sameness
twins and
peas in a pod
in our own green market

where we sold ourselves
to one another

and the lens that
filled the frame
with its f stops
snapped and snapped
away
filling albums

and now
an overabundance
an exorbitance
an excess of
sameness

too long on the wall
too many frames
too full

in my wallet
from a gone-by birthday
one of the first
during the newness

before excess
became too much



© Candice W. Coghill, November, 2011